People are going head over heels for the attractive, feature-rich and economically priced calling services being provided by Voip service providers. Nevertheless, as voip phone is an Internet-based telephony service, this ultimately makes it vulnerable to various malicious attacks including identity theft, phishing, spam and virus assaults.
To be able to understand this phenomenon, one should know the possible risks and threats behind the mysterious and pernicious harms caused to potential consumers of Voip and internet.
VoIP phones are susceptible to the same kinds of threats as your internet and emails are prone to, and according to security experts, the hackers and attackers are always on the search to come up with new VoIP-specific attacks and threats. Now, before you sign up with a VoIP service provider, get an understanding of the following potential
Vulnerabilities:
Spam: VoIP is prone to its own type of useless marketing, known as “Spam over Internet Telephony,” (SPIT).
Interruptions: Network attacks like worms and viruses can result in disruption of Voip service, or cause the service to go down.
Voice phishing: Voice phishing or commonly known as “vishing ,” occurs when an attacker contacts you faking to be somebody else and tricks you in revealing your highly important and valuable personal data, for example credit card, bank account information, home address etc.
Privacy loss: Mostly, VoIP data is unencrypted, which means intruders can easily despicably eavesdrop on your VoIP conversations.
Hacking: In hacking, as the name shows, hackers can gain control of your VoIP connection and unlawfully make calls, or worse, they might even sell your connection information on the black market. Once they enter your home network, hackers can sneak peek into your secret information easily, which they can find in your file and folders stored on your home PC.
Your VoIP Security checklist: You can’t stop the threats but you sure can lessen the threats by making sure you deploy it securely and take security measures to stay safe. This is what you could do to enhance your VoIP security:
Secure your equipment: Make sure to select VoIP equipment that uses latest wireless security standards such as WiFi Protected Access (WPA), WPA2, and IEEE 802.11i. Do not rely on Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) security as it’s an older and comparatively less secure technology.
Authentication and encryption: Remember to keep any authentication and/or encryption features offered with your VoIP system turned on at all times. This way, your Voip phone will remain out of hands of unauthorized people and ensure privacy for your calls. WPA, WPA2 and IEEE 802.11i devices generally are provided in with advanced encryption and authentication technology.
Use Strong Passwords: Your passwords are the initial target zones of hackers and data stealers. Once, the hacker hacks your Voip account, which means he can access anything; make calls using your account, withdraw money from your online bank account or apply for a credit card using your identity. Thus, it is highly recommended that you keep passwords that are difficult to hack. Use numbers and letters both in the password you choose for your Voip accounts, even other internet accounts you use.
VoIP firewall: Bear in mind that you use a firewall which is specifically designed for VoIP traffic. The firewall will easily identify strange calling patterns, supervise and monitor for signs of attack.
Up-to-date antivirus: It is necessary that you keep your antivirus and anti-spam technology up-to-date on all your devices.
